Here's something new that has never happened to me on the Roadfood site before, ever: POP-UPS! Now granted, they were blocked by the blocker I use in Firefox, but I have never even had the notification before.

Worse, the counter at the top at one point kept going up quickly and I exited the page when it said '5 pop ups blocked'. I'm sorry I didn't keep note of the URLs, but can say that I was reading trip reports (3 by billy boy and 3-4 by buffetbuster) and the pop-up blocks did NOT occur when I posted comments etc, but just immediately after arriving on a page, mainly after clicking to a 2nd or 3rd page.

The only other site I get this many blocks on is "GoComics" where I occasionally read my favorite comics that I miss, and they have nasty pop-ups that get through the blocks on occasion.

I don't know if it has to do with how the ads are sold, but I'll say it made me very nervous. (I understand pop-ups that get through are one of the frequent origins for spyware? but am NO expert!)

I'm really confused about the process, and indeed the entire purpose of reviews here...

I say this because after submitting a review for a place I recently tried, I got an email saying that I didn't rate it high enough...and also didn't include the average price...

I tried to write a review about a place and I got an email from Bruce Blimes that said, in part:

Hi John, thank you for submitting Be-Bop's Diner to Roadfood.com. Before we can consider your submission for publication on the website, you'll need to make the following changes or additions:

• You gave the restaurant a relatively low rating. We aim to post only the best of the best at Roadfood.com. • The Average Price field must be entered.

And my REPLY: Howdy...

I don't know their "average price"...all I know is what I paid for the meal I ate...

I'm not sure how my rating scale jives with others...I thought it was afairly good and reasonable rating for my 1st time there, and it would be totally dishonestto give it the top rave review rating unless I felt it was just absolutrely spectacular...

For me ,it's a GOOD average place...and the bottom line is that I *will*go back again...I'd rate it around 7 on a scale of 10...

Perhaps y'all might want to rethink your rating system...if you allow ONLYthe best of the best (as you say) then that is a skewed result and perhaps not an ACCURATEreflection of the experience...You're creating an artificial sense that everythingposted is fabulous, when in reality we know that medium ratings are certainly no insult...

What IS the point of having multiple choice ratings if you summerily dismiss all but the top ones...???

IMHO that is just plain goofey...the object of a REAL review is an honest evaluation, not one articifially peppered with nothing but superlatives that might not be warranted...

While I can see the value of not posting crappy reviews, this very heavy FILTERING of reviews by the Roadfood.com staff, et al, is by process eliminating some potentially nice places to eat that may have gottem medium reviews...

Don't you want honest reviews so folks can make up their own minds...or is the intent to provides a "call to action" for only a select few restaurants (which equals free promotion)...???

Here is what I wrote about the place I attempted to review...and let the readers make up thir own mind(s) as they see fit...

The point is, we're not trying to be a directory of every restaurant in America, or every restaurant that serves edible food, or even every restaurant that serves pretty decent food. We want to showcase the best, most unique regional restaurants in America.

We welcome mediocre and bad reviews, with one exception: the FIRST review of a restaurant must be better than that. We want to be sure SOMEBODY thinks it's a great place before we post it. We're not asking that you make a place out to be better than it is just to get the review posted. Rather, we're asking that if you don't think the place is great, then don't submit the restaurant (If you have negative things to say about a place that's already posted on the site, we want to hear about it - maybe it's a restaurant we should drop from our listings).

I think the difficulty is trying to fit that into 1 of 4 choices we have to rate it by, which in my opinion is less than meaningful...at least to me...maybe others might find those 4 choice to be ok...

I'd like to urge y'all to review and reconsider your rating system of only 4 choices, and that arbitrary MILEAGE bit...(around here it's 14 miles "to town" and a decent steak is 38 miles away, a distance that might inhibit city dwellers)

I think the difficulty is trying to fit that into 1 of 4 choices we have to rate it by, which in my opinion is less than meaningful...at least to me...maybe others might find those 4 choice to be ok...

I'd like to urge y'all to review and reconsider your rating system of only 4 choices, and that arbitrary MILEAGE bit...(around here it's 14 miles "to town" and a decent steak is 38 miles away, a distance that might inhibit city dwellers)

Its the same issue again. Why would anyone want to read a review of a mediocre restaurant? Even you didnt think it was outstanding. Who cares then?

I said that (in my opinion) that I rate it 7 ot of 10...while that might not be considered "outstanding" it certainly is NOT mediocre...and if one considers "5" to be medium, and a "7" is better than medium, or average...how does that get construed to be "mediocre"...???

Smokestack, is it your personal mission to disagree with EVERYTHING I type...??? What is your problem......???

You're obviously STALKING me here...

Try using a few social graces...nobody has appointed you to be a misguided "know-it-all" conscience of this webby site, have they...??? To you everything is mediocre (a word you like to use in excess)...

Lighten up...your are not any more important here than anybody else...

I said that (in my opinion) that I rate it 7 ot of 10...while that might not be considered "outstanding" it certainly is NOT mediocre...and if one considers "5" to be medium, and a "7" is better than medium, or average...how does that get construed to be "mediocre"...???

Smokestack, is it your personal mission to disagree with EVERYTHING I type...??? What is your problem......???

You're obviously STALKING me here...

Try using a few social graces...nobody has appointed you to be a misguided "know-it-all" conscience of this webby site, have they...??? To you everything is mediocre (a word you like to use in excess)...

Lighten up...your are not any more important here than anybody else...

STOP STALKING ME...!!!

NONSENSE. NO ONE IS STALKING YOU. ABSURD.

IT IS A PUBLiC FORUM. I WILL COMMENT ON ANYTHING I LIKE.

No one said I was more important. I will use whatever words I choose.

Dont want comments then don't post. And yes I think most of the places you have suggested are mediocre. At best.

You don't want advice. Even from respected posters like WJ. You want to have people agree with you.

You choose to write about awful chain FF places and are surprised when people comment?

I said that (in my opinion) that I rate it 7 ot of 10...while that might not be considered "outstanding" it certainly is NOT mediocre...and if one considers "5" to be medium, and a "7" is better than medium, or average...how does that get construed to be "mediocre"...???

Smokestack, is it your personal mission to disagree with EVERYTHING I type...??? What is your problem......???

You're obviously STALKING me here...

Try using a few social graces...nobody has appointed you to be a misguided "know-it-all" conscience of this webby site, have they...??? To you everything is mediocre (a word you like to use in excess)...

Lighten up...your are not any more important here than anybody else...

STOP STALKING ME...!!!

NONSENSE. NO ONE IS STALKING YOU. ABSURD.

IT IS A PUBLiC FORUM. I WILL COMMENT ON ANYTHING I LIKE. No one said I was more important. I will use whatever words I choose. Dont want comments then don't post. And yes I think most of the places you have suggested are mediocre. At best. You don't want advice. Even from respected posters like WJ. You want to have people agree with you. You choose to write about awful chain FF places and are surprised when people comment?

Smokestack Lighting, not true. This is a privately owned forum. As such the owners and management have set certain standards. You tend to push those standards. I'm getting tired of getting trouble tickets, two in the last month, for things you have posted. Consider yourself warned.

I'm not able to get the drop-downs to drop down on the "Reply to Message" or the "Subscribe to this Thread'. Won't let me quote a message or subscribe to a new thread!The only way i can subscribe to a thread is to post a message or go to one I already posted and Click on "Edit Message" and when it appears then go and click on "Get instant notification' and save. then I'm subscribed to the thread.

Foodbme I'm not able to get the drop-downs to drop down on the "Reply to Message" or the "Subscribe to this Thread'. Won't let me quote a message or subscribe to a new thread! The only way i can subscribe to a thread is to post a message or go to one I already posted and Click on "Edit Message" and when it appears then go and click on "Get instant notification' and save. then I'm subscribed to the thread.

I've been getting nothing new showing up in any section since last evening. In fact, every old post I do see shows as having recently been posted. Example, in the Glee Club meeting thread the last post I see is from Wamnddering Jew to SUndancer explaining how Priceline workds with regard to credit cards. It shows as having been posted two minutes ago, when in fact, if=t was posted yesterday.

I've posted tests, and when I do that the current thread shows up, so I can see that there have been further posts. But when I again go to the thread all the newer posts are gone, including my tests. I have rebooted a couple of times, but the problem has not been resolved.

FYI: I cannot recall the BBQ place that was the talk of the forum.. in Tennessee that is now defunct, could you refresh my memory as to the name of the BBQ place?

We stopped there perhaps in early 2005 and ordered ribs. We were totally disappointed in the ribs, in fact they were so hard, crusty (we let them know initially that we came for the ribs) In fact, we asked for a doggie bag and kind of snuck out of the back door. The ribs were not as cracked up about. I deleted the name of the BBQ place.

I believe that you interpreted wrongly my question. I'm asking for the name of the now defunct BBQ restaurant that Roadfood bragged on approximately in 2005 if only for my memory satisfaction. Thank You!

hi - i submitted a restaurant review a couple of weeks ago, and would suggest upon submitting content that it would be great if an automated response could be emailed that said "we received it". I'm not sure what the turn-around time for a submission is, so something generated that notes that it was received would ensure that it's sitting in a queue somewhere to be reviewed. That said, is there an expectation of how long a turnaround may be expected for submissions?